Some thoughts on investment in education
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Tayeb Husain
Since the year 2000, billions of dollars from public and foreign funds have been invested in Bangladesh for improving and uplifting education in the country. Many new schools have been established and thousands of people were employed as teachers in the process. It is heartening to note that more children go to school today than ever before they did percentage wise and numerically. But has Bangladesh made any real progress in education sector as expected after spending so much money by the poor country? Was public fund and donors' money spent properly for spreading education in Bangladesh?
One needs not be an expert to find out the answer. It is true that more children go to school now, astounding result of examination success by students (over 90 percent), and school and madrasa building activities in towns and villages have crossed the limit of our imagination. But what sort of education is the country offering to our future generation? Do they really get quality education? The answer will possibly be a big 'No' and the quality, generally speaking, is poor. Why it is so? The reasons are corruption and mismanagement at all levels. There are reports that our education department, school management, teachers and even the parents are corrupt and that have made the education system poor and quality not up to the mark.
Let us start with the education department. From orderly to the director, many in the education department are corrupt fellows. Money is often needed to get things done in this department. There might be exception but that is not worth mentioning.
How are teachers recruited? Bribe-- and higher amount of bribe--- works more here for being recruited as a teacher; competence is hardly counted. There is hardly any social resistance against it. It appears that corruption has become a part of our life.
Then let us talk about school management. There is an unholy competition among the dishonest people to become chairperson and members of the school management committee. Why? There are opportunities for the committee members and the chairperson for embezzlement of fund allotted by the government for the schools. They do it in connivances with the headmasters. The other way to earn extra is to exhort the poor students by charging high examination fees in school examinations. Now we have final examinations at primary, junior, secondary and higher secondary levels. Why the students need to undergo so many examinations before they compete for the university entrance examination is a question one needs to ponder.
Now, what do the teachers in Bangladesh do in the schools? They attend the schools for the sake of attending but hardly do any teaching. Most of the teachers have private tuition. This private tuition system we find in schools, colleges and even at university level. They have set questions in printed format, students need to buy it and learn the answers by heart, again from the set answers. They never go deep into anything and knowledge thus remains at a safe distance from our children.
What is the difference in Bangladesh between a policeman and a school teacher? One has a gun to trap you if and when possible for him to extort money from you while the other plays with the future of your children in exchange of money.
We have three types of education system-- English and Bangla medium schools and Madrasa education. English medium schools are for the rich and their objective is to get admitted in a foreign educational institution. Once they get out of the country they wait for an opportunity to make a second home in a foreign country. The Bangla medium schools are for the middle class and the Madrasa is for the poor people.
There is again a double standard mentality among the people. When February comes their love and fascination for the mother tongue know no bounds.
But after February 21st, their love for 'Bangla' dwindles very quickly to revive again in next February. Such a hollow and self-deceitful nation one cannot find many in the world. You send your own child to English medium school and make him ready for a foreign university, but you advise others to use Bangla in all walks of life. One can write volumes about Bangalee hypocrisies and self-contradictory behaviour but most strange aspect of this sordid scenario is, everybody knows what is wrong but nobody protests and calls for change clearly and loudly in public, but privately they all complain.
The other day the education minister was distributing books at a posh school in Dhaka marking the "Text Book Distribution Festival". What was most striking for me was to learn that the minister inaugurated the festival through distribution of books at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Do the students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College need free book from the poor government?
In a capitalist economy 'nothing should be distributed free' and those who do not know it 'are not the right people' to govern a country. Why the minister went to Viqarunnisa Noon School and College to distribute books where the children usually come from affluent families and they need no help from the government? Education should be free for those who are poor and those who can pay for it 'must pay' according to the ability of the parents. It is commonsense and the right thing to do according to social, religious and moral point of views.
Is it right that a rich person's child pay the same fee in public institutions as does a poor person's son? By imposing tuition fee according to parents' income in public educational institutions the government could earn a substantial amount that could be invested again in education sector or for any other public good. Not only that, for balanced economic development of a country one needs to uplift the poor offering them extra monetary help that effectively minimise the income differences between the rich and the poor.
I am an ordinary individual and I ask the minister and the members of the civil society to ponder for a while on what I have said and find out a solution for correcting the sordid state of affairs in our education system at large.
Tayeb Husain writes from Lund, Sweden. He can be reached at email: gtmail@telia.com
Since the year 2000, billions of dollars from public and foreign funds have been invested in Bangladesh for improving and uplifting education in the country. Many new schools have been established and thousands of people were employed as teachers in the process. It is heartening to note that more children go to school today than ever before they did percentage wise and numerically. But has Bangladesh made any real progress in education sector as expected after spending so much money by the poor country? Was public fund and donors' money spent properly for spreading education in Bangladesh?
One needs not be an expert to find out the answer. It is true that more children go to school now, astounding result of examination success by students (over 90 percent), and school and madrasa building activities in towns and villages have crossed the limit of our imagination. But what sort of education is the country offering to our future generation? Do they really get quality education? The answer will possibly be a big 'No' and the quality, generally speaking, is poor. Why it is so? The reasons are corruption and mismanagement at all levels. There are reports that our education department, school management, teachers and even the parents are corrupt and that have made the education system poor and quality not up to the mark.
Let us start with the education department. From orderly to the director, many in the education department are corrupt fellows. Money is often needed to get things done in this department. There might be exception but that is not worth mentioning.
How are teachers recruited? Bribe-- and higher amount of bribe--- works more here for being recruited as a teacher; competence is hardly counted. There is hardly any social resistance against it. It appears that corruption has become a part of our life.
Then let us talk about school management. There is an unholy competition among the dishonest people to become chairperson and members of the school management committee. Why? There are opportunities for the committee members and the chairperson for embezzlement of fund allotted by the government for the schools. They do it in connivances with the headmasters. The other way to earn extra is to exhort the poor students by charging high examination fees in school examinations. Now we have final examinations at primary, junior, secondary and higher secondary levels. Why the students need to undergo so many examinations before they compete for the university entrance examination is a question one needs to ponder.
Now, what do the teachers in Bangladesh do in the schools? They attend the schools for the sake of attending but hardly do any teaching. Most of the teachers have private tuition. This private tuition system we find in schools, colleges and even at university level. They have set questions in printed format, students need to buy it and learn the answers by heart, again from the set answers. They never go deep into anything and knowledge thus remains at a safe distance from our children.
What is the difference in Bangladesh between a policeman and a school teacher? One has a gun to trap you if and when possible for him to extort money from you while the other plays with the future of your children in exchange of money.
We have three types of education system-- English and Bangla medium schools and Madrasa education. English medium schools are for the rich and their objective is to get admitted in a foreign educational institution. Once they get out of the country they wait for an opportunity to make a second home in a foreign country. The Bangla medium schools are for the middle class and the Madrasa is for the poor people.
There is again a double standard mentality among the people. When February comes their love and fascination for the mother tongue know no bounds.
But after February 21st, their love for 'Bangla' dwindles very quickly to revive again in next February. Such a hollow and self-deceitful nation one cannot find many in the world. You send your own child to English medium school and make him ready for a foreign university, but you advise others to use Bangla in all walks of life. One can write volumes about Bangalee hypocrisies and self-contradictory behaviour but most strange aspect of this sordid scenario is, everybody knows what is wrong but nobody protests and calls for change clearly and loudly in public, but privately they all complain.
The other day the education minister was distributing books at a posh school in Dhaka marking the "Text Book Distribution Festival". What was most striking for me was to learn that the minister inaugurated the festival through distribution of books at Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Do the students of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College need free book from the poor government?
In a capitalist economy 'nothing should be distributed free' and those who do not know it 'are not the right people' to govern a country. Why the minister went to Viqarunnisa Noon School and College to distribute books where the children usually come from affluent families and they need no help from the government? Education should be free for those who are poor and those who can pay for it 'must pay' according to the ability of the parents. It is commonsense and the right thing to do according to social, religious and moral point of views.
Is it right that a rich person's child pay the same fee in public institutions as does a poor person's son? By imposing tuition fee according to parents' income in public educational institutions the government could earn a substantial amount that could be invested again in education sector or for any other public good. Not only that, for balanced economic development of a country one needs to uplift the poor offering them extra monetary help that effectively minimise the income differences between the rich and the poor.
I am an ordinary individual and I ask the minister and the members of the civil society to ponder for a while on what I have said and find out a solution for correcting the sordid state of affairs in our education system at large.
Tayeb Husain writes from Lund, Sweden. He can be reached at email: gtmail@telia.com